2008 is a Wrap!
Posted on March 10, 2009
We came, we saw and our clients conquered! Merlot Marketing’s clients rounded-out 2008 with countless public relations features, increased audience sizes, growth in leads through website visits, literature requests and even tremendous savings on media and bonus programs that generated substantial audience exposure!
The individual efforts and sheer volume of total successes would be too numerous to list here but following is a summary of our key clients’ marketing highlights for 2008:
EVERPURE
Everpure saw fantastic PR results in 2008. Featured on the TODAY show in June, Everpure’s H-300 under-counter water filtration system 
was hailed as the best on the market. A month later, Everpure received a mention in Parenting magazine, which reaches more than two million consumers across the country. A mid-year feature on RealSimple.com completed the TV-print-online trifecta. It certainly appears the national media is taking notice!
Merlot Marketing took home four awards in 2008 for Everpure marketing and PR collateral, including a Harvey-Q Award for outstanding achievement in advertising for the “Take Ordinary to Extraordinary” campaign appearing in the May 2008 issue of Kitchen & Bath Design News.
WALKER ZANGER
The 2008 communications campaign for Walker Zanger went above and beyond and proved to be a success that developed new media relationships and expanded the program through aggressive PR. Walker Zanger was positioned as an innovator in design and authenticity in both the consumer and design communities. Results showed noteworthy equivalent figures!
- Overall Figures: Featured in more than 406 publications in 2008. The circulation numbers for all 2008 publications featuring a Walker Zanger product totaled more than 186 million readers, a 196 percent increase from the 2007 campaign.
- If the aforementioned public relations features were translated into an ad campaign, Walker Zanger would have spent more than $7.5 million for all the 2008 publications in which they were featured. This equates to a 76 percent ad value increase from the 2007 PR campaign.
Walker Zanger’s presence at the world’s largest Kitchen and Bath Industry Show generated outstanding publicity. A custom press event attracted the attention of 67 media organizations, 83 media professionals and led to features in Elle DĂ©cor, LA Times, Interior Design and segments on programs such as HGTV’s Kitchens and Baths 2008, BetterHomesandGardens.com and WGN Chicago Morning News show.
Merlot also secured an interview with Meghan Carter on Ask the Decorator:
RIVER CITY BANK
2008 was a phenomenal year for River City Bank’s public relations efforts. Merlot Marketing has worked with the Sacramento icon since 2006 and steadily increased coverage of the bank each year. 2008 was no exception with impressive increases from 2007:
- Total number of clips: 320; an increase of 203%
- Circulation: 121,329,910; an increase of 156%
- Impressions: 136,685,568; an increase of 165%
- Ad Value: $4,397,821; an increase of 251%
ELDORADO STONE
With the consumer advertising campaign gaining momentum over the previous two years, 2008 was poised to be a year of exponential success for Eldorado Stone. Through aggressive negotiation and strategic media buying, Merlot Marketing developed an advertising campaign that reached the target audience at a minimal cost while gaining maximum exposure. In 2008 alone, Eldorado Stone advertisements were positioned in front of more than 43 million consumers in national publications such as Architectural Digest, Sunset and Southern Living. The 2008 consumer marketing campaign showed increases in nearly every category including website visits, consumer magazine leads, and literature requests, over 2007.
In addition to the valuable exposure Eldorado Stone garnered from a well-planned advertising campaign, Merlot Marketing was also able to negotiate numerous added-value programs at no additional sponsorship cost. These bonus programs included online advertising placements, special event sponsorships, company listings and show home sponsorships. Eldorado Stone reached a targeted audience through these programs, providing invaluable support for their advertising campaign.
A particularly important component to Eldorado Stone’s success in 2008 was its numerous show home sponsorships, allowing consumers to experience and be inspired by the product first hand. From the 40,000 visitors to the Sunset Idea House in Monterey to the 10,000 visitors to the Coastal Living Idea House in Maine, Merlot Marketing effectively geo-targeted regions across the United States. With additional show home sponsorships in high profile locations such as the Mall of America and Grand Central Station, Eldorado Stone reached a total of approximately 7,590,000 consumers who toured these homes in 2008. A significant victory by any measure!
MCCORMICK & SCHMICK’S SEAFOOD RESTAURANT
We were honored to be asked to support the opening of the new McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood Restaurant in Roseville, California. In just three months, we secured 22 media hits for the restaurant on television and in print. We also coordinated several radio promotions, giving away McCormick & Schmick’s gift certificates to lucky listeners. All in all, in the three short months focused on the opening, Merlot Marketing was responsible for producing media coverage that amounted to more than $450,000 in equivalent ad dollars reaching a total viewer circulation of 6.9 million consumers!
FUEGO
The 2008 communications campaign for Fuego exceeded expectations and proved to be a phenomenal success that garnered new partnerships, expanded the program and secured the Fuego grill as an innovator in design and grilling in both consumer and trade communities. Among the leading PR features was a spread in Outside Magazine, Ebony Magazine, and a segment on CBS The Early Show on the 4th of July! While we would love to share the details of each and every feature, we’ll just recap the highlights.
- Overall Figures: Featured in 113 publications; 46 individual blogs hits and 43 consumer and trade publications. Circulation numbers for all 2008 publications featuring a Fuego product totaled more than 73 million readers.
- In its first year at the Hearth, Patio & Barbeque Expo, Fuego’s presence at North America’s largest indoor/outdoor living show generated outstanding publicity and lead to a coveted Vesta Best-In-Show Award for the newly launched Fuego 02 Electric grill!
SMA America saw a number of “firsts” in 2008. In May, SMA America participated in its first-ever live radio show, reaching almost one million consumers on Home Magazine Live. They also became the first solar inverter manufacturer to cross over into building trade publications with features in GreenBuilder (the #1 building trade publication on the market) and Remodeling. SMA finished the year strong by being the only company with products featured in both of Environmental Design + Construction and Sustainable Facility’s “Top Products of 2008″ lists.
2008 was a banner year for solar power and SMA America. By year-end, SMA America had increased its PR audience totals by 126% over the previous year. The momentum continues to build and 2009 looks like another sunny year for SMA.